


picture perfect

by Marvellous



Series: peace of mind [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-09 02:40:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12878445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvellous/pseuds/Marvellous
Summary: Cas takes Jack Christmas shopping at the mall.





	picture perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Again, not sure what the purpose of these one shots are, but somehow I love this setting and just wanna keep adding to it.
> 
> No characters belong to me, all mistakes are my own.

Castiel pulled into the parking lot of the mall which was far too busy for his taste, but he had promised Jack they could go Christmas shopping and braving the Christmas rush was easier mid-week after school. Or so he’d been told.

“Aunt Charlie is gonna come with us, right?” Jack asked as they pulled into an empty parking space.

“Yup,” Cas checked his phone and the texts he had just received to confirm that, before telling his son, “Get your jacket done up, it’s cold out.” He then hopped out of the truck himself, going to the side the baby was to get her out of her carseat. Mentally he cursed himself for not having brought her stroller, but the older she got the more she would've fought it anyways. He was better off carrying her at this point.

“Hey! Thought I recognized that big ugly truck!” a voice piped up behind him.

Turning around, Castiel smiled at the red head, baby on his hip, “It’s not ugly, it’s practical. There’s no way we’d fit the carseats and everything in the Impala.”

Jack jumped out his side of the truck and ran to fling his arms around her, “Charlie!” 

“Yah, yah, I know,” She said, chuckling at Cas’ comment, then turning to Jack happily as she ruffled his hair, “Jack! What’s up, dude?”

“I’m gonna get a Christmas present for dad,” he said proudly.

“Nice! How’d you convince dad to stay home while you all went out?” Charlie aimed this question at Cas.

He locked the doors before they started walking towards the entrance, “Dean’s picking up some extra hours at the shop.” 

This year had been hard for Dean. In the past, he’d been able to get quite a few solid gigs at different places, playing monthly or weekly even. This year however it seemed the need for live music had dwindled, so now with the Christmas season upon them, the mechanic shop that employed Dean part time needed more so he quickly snapped up any extra work he could get. Since Cas himself was using up his vacation time and his shifts at the station were few this month, it worked out.

Charlie nodded understandingly, “That’s nice they could give him the extra time.”

Cas agreed, “Yah, and he’ll still be off for Christmas and New Years.”

“Here, let me take Nellie,” Charlie offered when she saw Cas struggling to get her sweater done up as they walked.

“No, it’s fine,” he started to protest but she was already grinning in Charlie’s arms, “Thanks, Charlie.”

“I came to help, didn’t I?” she said with a wink.

Castiel really was thankful for the help she offered, since usually when he went out there was always another set of arms he could count on to help keep the two kids in check.

A gasp sounded from the boy walking at Castiel’s side as they got to the door, pointing to a sign with Santa’s picture on it, “Can I get my picture with Santa?”

Following his gaze to the sign, Castiel chuckled, “If you’re good.”

The excitement could physically be seen building in the little boy, and Castiel was reminded of why Christmas had suddenly become so important to him the last seven years. Seeing that joy and wonder in his son’s eyes was what made it such a magical time of year.

———

“Have I been good, papa?” Jack inquired as the four of them sat at a food court table, a few bags at their feet confirming they had in fact been shopping. 

Of course Castiel had to make a detour to the children’s clothing store as well where he picked out some Christmas outfits for the kids. Other than that, it had all been under Jack’s direction, which had lead to him picking out some flannel shirts for his dad, with some helpful persuasion from the two adults on that one. The boy also managed in finding a little shop that probably struggled the most in the mall, tucked away in some forgotten corner. There he found a silver feather necklace on a plain black cord that he insisted was a great present for Dean from both Penelope and him because of how he called them ‘his angels’ and went on to say how angels had wings so it just made sense. The price wasn't even an issue for Cas after that.

“What do you think, Charlie? Has he?” Castle asked, adjusting the baby on his lap as she slobbered all over her hand.

Charlie hummed and hawed, “I don’t know…”

“Auntie Charlie!” Jack protested, giving a tug to her shirt.

She laughed, “You definitely have been.”

He sat up straighter at that and fixed Cas with a proud grin, “I get to go see Santa now, right?”

“Yes, Jack,” Castiel assured, starting to stand up and grabbing some of the bags.

“I’ll stay here, so leave those. It’ll be easier,” Charlie insisted, “Do you wanna leave Nel too?”

Castiel shook his head as he put the bags back down, “I’ll take her.”

Jack took Castiel’s hand then and started to drag him impatiently towards the place set up in the middle where they had Santa’s chair set up, decorated with perfectly wrapped presents, twinkly lights and life sized reindeer. It even smelt like Christmas while they stood in line waiting their turn, which thankfully wasn't long.

Suddenly the nerves overtook Jack and he found himself hiding behind Cas’ legs, watching all the kids as they went and sat with Santa before taking off.

“Papa, I don’t want to,” he whispered as he clutched tight to Castiel’s shirt.

Cas put a hand on his shoulder and knelt beside him, baby in his arms looking around in wonder at all the sparkly things, “What? You’ve been talking about it since we got here.”

Jack just shook his head slowly, starting to chew on the collar of his shirt.

Gently pulling it out of his mouth Castiel sighed, “Just a quick picture? Nel can be in it too.”

Looking at his little sister, then at the bearded man in the red suit, Jack contemplated the proposed idea. Eventually he nodded, “Okay.”

“It’ll be okay, don’t worry,” Cas said as he stood up and realized they were at the front of the line.

The photographer welcomed them with a bright smile, “Your turn!”

Jack looked up at Cas worriedly before starting to walk over to the man dressed as Santa, who seemed all too familiar with shy kids.

“Ho ho ho!” he boomed cheerily, “What’s your name, young man?” 

“It’s…it’s Jack,” Jack hesitantly sat down beside the man and told him his name in something just above a whisper.

“Is this your little sister, Jack?” he asked as Castiel handed him the baby with a warm smile.

He looked at Jack and gave him a thumbs up, mouthing a ‘you got this’ before stepping back behind the photographer lady.

“Yah, that’s Penelope,” he said, cheering up a little as the attention wasn't fully on him.

He was asked what he wanted, which he then whispered in Santa’s ear, and then the woman asked him to look at her and tried to get the baby’s attention before the camera light flashed.

———

The kids were in bed generally by the time Dean got home from work on the weekdays, since part of the shops winter hours were that it stayed open later. This particular night was no exception, the lights turned low as Cas sat curled up on the couch in his usual spot by the window where he could see as soon as Dean got home, blanket covering his shoulders and something like Property Brothers playing on the television. 

It was already dark outside, and fresh snow had fallen, creating a blanket of white outside that glowed from the porch light. He reached to pet the golden retriever that was snuggled at his feet, the other probably protecting the kids rooms. 

Dean was almost late enough to get Cas to worry, but as soon as he picked up his phone to contemplate calling him, the driveway lit up with headlights from the truck making its way towards the house. Cas watched as he saw Dean’s silhouette hop out the passenger side, thanking whoever it was for the ride home before making his way to the front door.

A chilly gust of air filled the room once the door opened, making Cas shiver and pull the sleeves of his sweater down before he looked over to his husband who had just walked in. “Hey, babe,” he said sleepily.

Dean walked over to him first, already clean from the shower he probably had at work, but still smelling of car grease as he leaned over the other and pressed a kiss to his forehead, “Hey. What’d you do today?”

“Christmas shopping with Charlie,” Cas said as he sat up, pointing to the few already wrapped gifts under the tree in the opposite corner of the room, “I have the best picture to show you from today.”

“Alright, I’ll just go get changed first,” Dean said before pulling away with a soft smirk, quietly walking down the hallway to their room.

Castiel turned the volume down on the TV and gently pushed the dog to the other side of the couch, only managing to convince her as Dean walked back, looking just as cozy as Castiel felt, in just his boxers and a hoodie that Cas knew there was nothing underneath.

Dean situated himself beside Cas with a soft huff, eyelids heavy as he leaned back against the couch. 

Reaching over to the coffee table, Cas snatched up the photo and leaned into Dean’s warmth as he held it up for him.

A wide grin instantly found Dean’s face as he looked at the image framed by some holiday themed images, centre-piecing the moment quite perfectly.

Instead of looking at the photographer, Jack had been looking at his sister with a look of complete adoration, and Nellie was grinning up at the stranger holding her. The woman had offered to redo it so they could get a shot of at least one of them looking at the camera, but Cas liked it a lot better that way, with the kids caught up in their own individual moments of bliss.

“I love it,” Dean said, thumb fixing the slightly bent corner, “Look at them, Cas. They’re so…happy.”

Castiel watched Dean’s face in his own interrupted moment, watching the way his eyes crinkled as he smiled, the smile that made him look as young as the day they met. “Of course they are,” he breathed, resting his forehead against the side of Dean’s.

Dean reached over to set the photo safely back on the table before wrapping an arm around Cas, pulling him closer as he kissed his nose. 

A chuckle left his lips as Castiel let his lips find Dean’s in response, one hand on the other man’s stomach while the other entangled with his short hair. “Love you,” he murmured.

“Love you, too,” Dean hummed back, interlocking their hands together in the soft glow of their living room, soaking in every little thing that made their lives so picture perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos/comments much appreciated!! 
> 
> Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed <3


End file.
